"What? Of course not!"
Lupin was taken aback, then chuckled softly.
"I just admire her vitality; it has nothing to do with romantic feelings."
In fact, Abigail's personality always reminded him of James and Sirius.
Not the current Sirius, but the one from their teenage years when they were reckless and free.
They once planned that the four of them would stay together after graduation. They wanted to travel the world, exploring those remote and dangerous places, leaving behind the legends of the Raiders in every Ministry of Magic.
But after graduation, they were immediately caught up in war. James married Lily, and soon they had a child...
Life seemed like a fast-forwarded videotape; Lupin felt he hadn't caught up, and the quartet from the past was down to just him.
He looked back, finding no one beside him; looking forward, he couldn't see where the path lay.
The dreams of youth were like mist, blown away without a trace by the wild winds of death and war.
Lupin's expression was slightly somber, and seeing this, Vid fell silent.
The two followed the tracks left by the carriage and soon arrived at Hogsmeade.
From a distance, Vid spotted a Banshee crouched on the high, spire-like rooftop, its wings folded behind like bird wings. Its gray-green eyes watched them for a while before it apathetically turned its gaze away.
Banshees are a type of Magical Creatures, living among wizards but yet isolated from them, much like Centaurs.
However, unlike Centaurs who like to live in groups, Banshees mostly live alone or in groups of two or three.
They mostly hide in human cities or villages, but only in pure Wizard Villages like Hogsmeade can they spread their wings freely without having to disguise themselves as ordinary humans.
This Banshee was one of Hogsmeade's residents, and Hogwarts students occasionally saw her when they ventured out.
Lupin and Vid didn't pay much attention and skirted around the tower where the Banshee was.
Hogsmeade also had additional Easter decorations, with eggs and rabbits everywhere, and wizard tourists who had come from other places.
Lupin's house was as warm as always, with a few rabbits hopping around the entrance. A red-eyed rabbit, dressed in blue, squatted at the door, curiously observing them.
Vid crouched down, poking at it, and asked, "Sirius not here?"
"He went to buy things; preparations are needed to ensure safety during the Animagus transformation," Lupin said.
He picked a few cabbages and lettuces from his garden, directing them to jump into the pool to wash themselves clean, then fly to the cutting board.
The knife immediately jumped up, chopping the vegetables with a thud.
Vid glanced at the bookshelf, noticing a few more books, such as "Cooking Magic," "Delicious Things Need Appropriate Magic," and "Complete Guide to Household Magic."
Although these spells were very practical, they weren't part of Hogwarts' curriculum, requiring interested wizards to learn them on their own.
Vid went upstairs to put away his luggage and changed into his casual home clothes, hearing the sound of an engine roaring from next door.
At the same time, the aroma of food wafted out from the kitchen, and soon, Lupin walked out from it.
The two headed next door and saw that Sirius had already returned, dressed in an extremely trendy outfit -
A black leather jacket and boots, wearing sunglasses, his black hair fluttering in the wind behind him.
Sirius was riding a huge red motorcycle, decorated with golden Lion patterns. Sirius had evidently made a lot of modifications to it, so much so that Vid couldn't recognize the brand.
Vid squinted his eyes — if he hadn't been seeing things, it seemed that Sirius had just descended from the sky.
"Sirius," Lupin said helplessly, "you know the Ministry of Magic prohibits the misuse of Muggle artifacts."
Sirius nonchalantly replied, "I'm invisible along with it, so no one can see us — hey, Vid, I bet you're all set?"
"Of course," Vid replied with a smile.
"You haven't missed a day of the spell practice, right?" Sirius asked seriously, "Don't lie, you know it's life-dependent, very important."
"Of course I haven't missed it," Vid replied, "Twice a day at sunrise and sunset, I haven't skipped once."
"Good lad!" Sirius ruffled Vid's hair erratically, saying, "Follow me, see what we've prepared for you."
They walked together through the woods, walking for a dozen minutes, reaching a valley in the nearby forest.
There stood a hastily built log cabin, crooked and held up solely by magic from collapsing. Vines wrapped around like a spider web, leaving only a narrow path free.
The foliage of the trees and the vines stretched long, intertwining above to form a giant web. Sunlight filtered through the gaps between leaves, scattering down like a rain curtain.
In the clearing, there was a pit filled with water, looking very clear.
A fawn was drinking by the pit, startled by their footsteps. It leapt away, jumped to the edge of the woods, looked back at them, and then ran off.
"Damn, when did this place get opened up?"
Sirius walked over, pointing his Magic Wand at the gap through which the fawn entered, and the surrounding shrubs immediately stretched to seal the gap tightly.
"What's this for?" Vid asked curiously.
"Didn't you say you once dreamt of flying?" Lupin mentioned, "Dreams during Animagus practice can have a certain prophetic element; your animal form might be a bird."
"Back then, I dreamt of running on all fours, even chasing my own tail. I thought at least it would've been a leopard or something..."
Returning, Sirius said gloomily, "Animagus needs to transform in an open area, but if you turn into a bird and fly off, occupied by bird instincts and forget to come back, where would we find you?"
This is the biggest danger of Animagus practice; it might turn a wizard into a real animal, losing self-awareness and human thoughts.
"So, to prevent you from flying away, we've enclosed the whole area," Lupin said. "And if you turn into a fish, there's plenty of water here to ensure you can breathe."
The first Animagus transformation must be in an open space to avoid getting squeezed to death if the transformed size is too large; also not in a complex environment lest it becomes impossible to locate if too small.
It is best if there's no other creatures around, to avoid getting mixed in or becoming prey post-transformation.
Some creatures require extremely specific living environments, necessitating special arrangements.
All potential sources of danger were eliminated by the two adult wizards. After Sirius cleaned up a bit, he suddenly asked wistfully:
"Remus, why were we so bold back then, starting the transformation carelessly?"
"It's a wonder we survived! Turning into a Black Dog was awesome..."
Before Lupin could respond, he said with a lingering fear, dragging his words, as he poured two packets of sea salt into the water pit.